Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-07-16
BRIDES AND eRooMs.
Lore About Love Knots, Wedding Rings
and Marriage Customs.

but from the Danish verb 'trulotd, which
means AZ plight my troth." In the first
chapter OF the Icelandic gospel of ST. Mat
thew we read: TIL einrdr Ncgar e. truEo tad
rar einum Mannc'-i e., "To "a virgin who
was espoused Tor plighted) to man"
Gay in one of MS pastorals called spell, y
thus describes rustic method of knitting
| the true love knot;
! As Lubberkin once slept beneath a tree
| l twitehed his dangling garter from his knee.
| He wist not when the hempen string drew /;
Now mine quickly doff of inkle blue.
| Together fast tie the carriers twain.
| And while knit the knot repeat this strain
| +" Three times true loves knot tie secure:
Firm be the knot; firm may his love endure"
From the peasantry the knotted ribbon
as an emblem of conjugal fidelity crept up
into aristocratic usage, and al marriages OF
persons of distinction knots of ribbons were
distributed to all the guests, and were worn
in France on the arm, in England on the
hat. OZell in a note to his translation of
Missions Travels in England" (p 500
says THE favor was large knot of rib
bands of several colors, gold, silver, carna-
ton and white. This is worn upon the hat
for some weeks" On the same page his
author says: " Fortunately in France they
| gave livrees de noces, which was knot OF
ribbands, to be worn by the guests upon
| their arms; but this is practis'd now only
among peasants. In England it is still
| done among the greatest noblemen. These
ribbands they call favors, and give them
not only TO those that are at the wedding,
but to 800 people besides"
In curious old book entitled The Fif-
teen Comforts of Marriage" conference of
bridesmaids lets US into the notions held
by our ancestors with regard to the sym
bolism of colors. They will not, they say,
decorate the bridal couch with yellow rib
bons, as that color is the emblem of ieal-
ousy; nor with fenille mort, as that signi-
fies fading love; but with true blue, signi-
| flying consistency, and green, denoting youth
so that the combination would represent
! youthful constancy. One lady proposed
blue and black, to indicate constancy till
death objected to on account of the i'll
| matching of those colors. Violet was pro-
posed as mathematical of religion; objected
| to as too grave. At last they concluded to
mingle a gold tissue with grass-green,
which later signifies youthful jollity.
For the brides favors. top-knots and gar
tiers. The bride herself proposed blue, gold
color. popinjay green and lemon color. Her
| assistants objected, that gold color signified
avarice and popinjay green wantonness.
Then the young bride proposed to mingle
| flame color, flesh color, willow and milk
as flesh color was liable to the objectiona-
BILE Interpolation of lasciviousness, and
willow meant forsaken. Further discus
sion revealed the fact that red was the EN-
blem OF justice and sea-green of inconSist-
ency. Finally the mllliner fixed the col
ors as follows: For the favors, blue, red
peach color and orange tawny; for the
young ladies' top-knots, flame color, straw
color (signifying plenty, peach color, grass
green and milk-white, and for the carriers
perfect yellow, signifying honor and joy
| The use of bridemaids at weddings is a
custom as old as the time of the Anglo
Saxons, among whom, as Strut informs us
in his work on Manners and Customs -
1.-THE bride was led by matron who was
called the brides woman, followed by a
company of young maidens, who were
called the trademarks" Subsequently il
was the Office of the maids 20 conduct
| the bridegroom to church. while the
groomsmen led the bride thither. Thus
in an old book entitled 1.-The History oil
John Newcombe, the Wealthy Clothier OF
| Newberry," the author, describing the
marriage of his hero, says: After her
came the chiefest maidens of the country
some bearing bride cakes and some gar.
lands made of wheat finely gilded, and SC
passed to the church. She was led to
church between two sweet boys, with
| bridelaces and rosemary tied about Their
silken sleeves; the one was Sir Thomas
Parry, the other Sir Francis Hungerford
| The provincial poem of the Golfers
Wedding" cited by Brand in his Popular
Antiquities" bears testimony to the same
effect:
Two lusty lads, well drest and strong
Stepped out to lead the bride along;
And two young maids of equal size
AS soon the bridegroom's hands surprise.
Similarly we read in Brooke's Eng.
lands Helieon :"
Forth; honourd groome behold, not far be
hind,
Your willing bride, led by two strengthle.se
boys.
The groomsmen were anciently called
bride knights. Those who led the bride to
church were always bachelors, but those
! who conducted her home were married
men. Polydore Vergil, who wrote in the
time of Henry VIII, informs US that in
coming home from church the bride was
| preceded by third married man bearing,
| instead of torch, vessel of silver or gold
| This was doubtless what was known as the
| bride-cup. In the marriage OF John New
combe heretofore cited) the writer, de-
| scribing the bridal procession, says
There was fair bride-cup of silver-gilt
| carried before her, wherein was a goodly
| branch of rosemary, gilded very fair and
| hung about with silken ribbands of all col
ours"
The difference in the offices of ancient
and of modern groomsmen finds another
| illustration in Beaumont and Fletcher's
Scornful Lady - We're these two arms
| encompassed with the hands of bache lors
to lead me to the church. Home Journal